One Colonel Ardenti, who has unnaturally black, brilliantined hair, a carefully groomed mustache, wears maroon socks, and who once served in the Foreign Legion, starts it all. He tells three Milan book editors that he has discovered a coded message about a Templar Plan, centuries old and involving Stonehenge, a plan to tap a mystic source of power far greater than atomic energy.

The editors, who have spent altogether too much time rewriting crackpot manuscripts on the occult by fanatics and dilettante, decide to have a little fun. They'll create a Plan of their own. But how? Randomly they throw together manuscript pages on hermetic thought: The Masters of the World, who live beneath the earth. The Comte de Saint-Germain, who lives forever. They add Satanic initiation rites of the Kings of the Temple, Assassins, Rosicrucians, Brazilian voodoo, the Third Reich. And they feed all this, and much more, into their powerful computer. Abulafia. A terrific joke, they think, until the Plan assumes a life and power of its own, and turns deadly...as people mysteriously begin to disappear, one by one, starting with Colonel Ardenti.

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Listener Opinions

Mark L. | 11/2/2015

" I have listened to this audiobook five times in the last seven years and am about ready to start again. An Occultist's extravaganza. It is difficult to get into, but if you can, it will be worth it. Also, Tim Curry is a great reader, and made it easier to listen to than to read. "

Rick | 2/13/2014

" Another complex book. Enjoyed it, but not my favorite of the "complex book writers." "

Alexandra Kollaros | 2/8/2014

" The most overrated book I have ever come across. Pretentious and non-sensical, easily could be 1/4 the size and still manage to be boring - overall a complete waste of time "

Sharon | 2/7/2014

" I loved his "Name of the Rose," but this one was a Gothic mess from start to finish, and it had one of those infuriating endings that negates the entire story. I'm mad that I finished it. "

L | 2/5/2014

" Good, but much slower paced than the first chapter, the comparisons to the Da Vinci Code, and another book by the same author had led me to believe. "

Sudha | 1/28/2014

" read it many times over....and enjoyed it far more than 'the name of the rose'... "

Guillaume Riflet | 1/17/2014

" Read in portuguese (PT). An impressive mind, the author's, that broadened my own. You get soaked into a completely different and more advanced civilizational culture, that of the author's and that of the Templars. "

Johngaltanarchy | 1/1/2014

" Brilliant. Mind blowing. This is was Dan Brown wanted to write but couldn't. This is the work of a man who not only mastered the facts but human nature as well. "

LavidaEs UnaBarca | 12/30/2013

" I think is a great journey to some of the most famous moments in the story of occultism. "

Lane Anton | 12/21/2013

" A little slow to start. But once I got past the beginning, I couldn't put it down. "

" read the first 50 pages of this, could not get into it. may try again later. "

Doug Preston | 6/22/2013

" awful! A boring ego trip trying to be literature. "

David | 4/17/2013

" I'm a Eco fan. Too bad more Dan Brown fans don't read it. "

Eric Timar | 3/11/2013

" I love this book for the history, and the trivia; I love it for the Ahab-like obsession of some of the characters; I love it because Eco clearly thinks I'm up to the task of reading it. "

Ellen | 2/7/2013

" This goes on a very small shelf right next to The Da Vinci Code: "books I finished only because I was in a foreign country and had no other English reading material." I don't know how I disliked it so much when I loved The Name of the Rose, but this seems to be a common reaction. "

Gregory Marris | 12/1/2012

" I loved this book obviously so wonderfully researched. If only those millions of readers had bothered to read this wonderful tale in place of the nonsense by Dan Brown. I was inspired to visit some of the locations whilst in Paris and I am rarely inspired to do this by a book. "

Robert | 8/18/2012

" Reading this book was like a three day LSD trip focused on paranoia and fear. "

Î‘Î½ÏŽÎ½Ï…Î¼Î¿Ï‚ Î†Î³Î½Ï‰ÏƒÏ„Î¿Ï‚ | 8/15/2012

" One of the best books i have ever read. Philosophical and humorous, highly recommended for conspiracy obsessed types-as a cure, hopefully. "

Dennis Mcuire | 7/22/2012

" It has been a few years since I read this one, but it had me looking over my shoulder! At the time of my life when this was in my hands, a dictionary was at the ready. "

Jjewell | 4/19/2012

" A very good book. My only criticism is that it couldn't possibly live up to The Name of the Rose. "

Klelia | 1/1/2012

" Here is a book that requires from the reader an extra notebook on which to take notes in order to not get lost. Eco is spectacular except for his 200 page ADD intervals where he talks about something relatively unrelated. "

Zach | 6/1/2011

" The Da Vinci Code is equal parts Foucault's Pendulum and Fast and the Furious "

" Full of conspiracy and critically written. Fully recommended for person who love to reveal truth beneath the history. The plot line was implicit but real. Thumbs up for Umberto Eco. He really knows how to satisfy his readers with adventurous yet enchanting stories.
"

Chris | 4/27/2011

" Interesting, but way too dense.
"

Carolyn | 4/16/2011

" Very disappointing after _The Name of the Rose_ - a big mish-mash of Templars, Masons, Grail legends, history and fantasy, none of which made a whole lot of sense.
"

Jay | 4/15/2011

" This book makes the DaVinci Code look like a comic book. Loved it from start to finish, which didn't take long since it was so hard to put down.
"

Jason | 4/14/2011

" A bit of a labyrinth. The final few chapters, though, are something beautiful. The entire book is worth reading simple to get to and understand the end.
"

Other Titles by Umberto Eco:

About the Author

Umberto Eco is an Italian semiotician philosopher, literary critic, and novelist. He is the author of The Name of the Rose, Foucault's Pendulum, and The Prague Cemetery, all bestsellers in many languages, as well as a number of influential scholarly works.

About the Narrator

Tim Curry has created a rich array of memorable characters
for both the screen and stage, most notably the role of the scientist in the
Broadway and film versions of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. He’s been
nominated for Tony Awards for his roles in My Favorite Year and The
Pirates of Penzance. His film credits include Muppet Treasure Island,
The Shadow, Clue, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, The
Three Musketeers, and many, many more.

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